Three Word CD Review for Susan Werner's "Kicking the Beehive."

Fan-Fucking-Tastic!

Am I allowed to say more? Well, it is supposed to be a three word review. I'll just hush up for now.. and then rave about it some more at a later time!

the crowd for Sat. nite...

Susan and Trina onstage and the packed house drinking them in.

Ok.. it's not swine flu...

I have no idea what knocked me out yesterday... but it was bad. I am not too good at being sick, so I just stayed upstairs and hoped for the best. I did get more video uploaded though.

Here is Susan and Julia Biber doing "May I Suggest?" at the Schenectady show.



I have a bunch more stuff to put up on my wee youtube page, but I also need to meet an insurance investigator over at the house today as well. I am getting ready to tackle some of the footage from Natalia and Antje's run. I am pretty jazzed about that too.

I'm operating at about 75% today, but I definitely feel better than yesterday. Needless to say, I am being gentle with the caffeine consumption this morning.

Oil City.

A familiar view for me...I have now officially forgotten how mnay times I have come through this small western PA town.

It treats us well...every time.

It's a full day in the car as we race back to the farm. Tomorrow Trina and I go to the Susan Werner gig in Schenectady and Natalia is off with Daisycutter (as a trio) in Saranac Lake.

It's a cool semi rainy morning here. I think I need more coffee as I am zoning out pretty hard. Beteer juice up....the possibility that I am driving is pretty big.

And here we are on Wednesday.

It's time to start packing..

I get to go over and get to the task of organizing the move. Coffee is my savior. And I'm on the phone with Hamlin as I type this.

She and I are going over details for Columbus on June 19th. Hamlin... full band... with Alli Miller( Ani DiFranco) and Susan Werner and possibly Gail Ann Dorsey on bass(David Bowie, Gwen Stefani) and really it's turning into an opportunity to get on track for the coming year and gear up for all the goodness that awaits.

I gotta get my shit on track...

and the prognosis is...

Good.

It was the damn battery in the phone. No new G1 was purchased. So I will be back up and running in an hour or so for mobile blogging.

When I mentioned "Scout" I was referring to the NYC band that is no longer together that had my pal Ashen Keilyn in it. All of thier cd's are still available online. They are nothing short of incredible! Her voice is really something... it is headphone music for sure!

Ashen will be releasing a new project produced by Jim Eno of Spoon in the coming months, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it... hell, send me the roughs!! I don't need no polished and purty thang... I just want the music!

In fact... I never have listened to the mastered versions of Susan Werner Live at Passim or Meg Hutchinson's Come Up Full... I got the unmastered stuff as soon as I could get my hands on it and I never even got real copies of the full blown product!

Anyhow, I feel better knowing my phone is not dead. It gave me the morning off from feeling like I needed to hound people about Bisbee issues and I'm just gonna put that down for the day.

It's 6:19 in the a.m...

That's the start time for this post. We'll see how long it takes to go all the way through it. (first break... stir the oats and then smash all over Rosebud)

I made some headway next door. I have to stand back and ponder. And then walk in and out of a room. I have more of a free form way of putting this all together. Not unlike my life. Nothing is planned really. I just see what feels right in that moment. If it weren't for booking Trina, I might not even know what day it is! Wait... what day is it? Oh! Right! It's Monday!

I am going to The Baked Pueblo today to surrender the bulldog. I know she loved the attention and play and love but I'm not so sure she appreciates how much walking it takes for healthy peepus and poopus synergy. Let's face it.. if you were the about 40lbs. and your legs were only 5 inches long how would you like to haul all that around?? She gets tired fast. And then she just stops... looks up and signals..."carry me please?" So I do. (second break.. mash on the dog, fix the oats..)

I have inspiration flowing this morning. Thanks to all you kids who responded to my request a few posts back. I needed some words.. and I got them. And I got a big ol' heart full of gratitude for all of you. I send you each caffeinated love and goodness for your day! (third break... eating-o-the-oats)

Our schedule is starting to shape up... there will be calls to Ann Arbor, Evanston, Indy, Sitka, Juneau, Anchorage, D.C., MA, and more today before the big trek up to Tucson. Got lots to do. And... I need to book my flight for Folk Alliance for Feb.. Yes, after years of making plans, hoping etc... I finally get to go. I am jumping on the Market Monkeys bandwagon for that (thanks MC) and going to support them in all they do with all those artists whose music I love.. Susan Werner, Natalia Zukerman, Meg Hutchinson, Anne Heaton and yes... over the years they have done consulting with The Hamlin too. I'll head to Memphis on the 18th and then leave on the 22nd and go to Kansas City Mo. to do a wee house sit for my dear sweet friends Charles and Kelly and their pooch Murray (who I call "The Mer-man") then back to Bisbee.

I am really looking forward to that. Ok... trash guys are coming gotta get the can out!

I knew Suze would be at the studio...

I didn't know she'd be on-air though. How could they say no to Susan?? They LOVE her there!!!

And so... the initial reaction is...

"I think that's a beautiful version of that song" Helen Leicht XPN DJ

Yes... they love Susan Werner in Philly...

Who the hell doesn't love Susan??

C'mon!

Fun!

Susan Werner is live on WXPN!!!! In the studio... passing out copies of her new cd "Classics"!!! They have her mic'd and looks like they will chat with her on air for a bit!!! I am gonna go ahead and liveblog this!!!

She's describing the new project...

They are playing Lonely People!! Cool!!!

So in my inevitable quest to be nice to myself..

I was looking over video I had that was not yet available to the public. Some never will be. Some may get released over time. But I was struck with the magnitude of incredible music I got to see over the last few years. Some of the best moments have been Susan Werner shows. It's because the energy between Susan and Trina is just wonderful and they really love playing together. Watching musicians do what they do and love who they do it with is one of the greatest gifts I have ever gotten. All of the people I have gotten to meet have been a gift... some challenging but a gift nonetheless. In looking at what I want for the new year... it's a gentle confidence and an opportunity to make a difference. And it starts in my own skinbag. So I'm giving myself the gift of forgiveness.

And I don't think any footage I ever had posted before matches this version of just that.

Susan Werner at The Ark November 2008. Her last show of the year. And truly one of the best I saw in all of 2008.

And let's not forget that if it's a Susan show... we get Jane. And that is a real treat for me... one of the best.

Late night update... in thinking about the shows that I loved this last year...Trina's show in Evanston was high point... for all the right reasons. Great room, big crowd, and lots of fun! And Natalia being adored by a full house when she was opening for Ani DiFranco was a shining moment in my brain.

And being home and getting to be around music was good. I like Howe Gelb... he is a quirky/brilliant songwriter. And his music has been on my periphery for a skabillion years while I lived in Tucson. He does not disappoint.

So....I got that haircut...

Now I swear to Jeebus I got a ''Susan Werner!''

No shit...

It looks good..but let me say that Susan is much prettier in her hair than I could ever be!

Oh yes... there is new video!

This my friends is what it's all about! Seeing your boss..in front of a great crowd... at a fantastic venue...giving her all. I have to say, Trina really showed what she was made of this night.



Susan and Ingrid have the voices of angels!!! And how about that Werner lady on guitar? Wow!

Radio in MI

WNMC in Traverse City. The girls are doing ''Time Between Trains'' live.

And please note the posters of Suze and Trina both on the wall...the both headline at Inside Out Gallery within a week of each other.

Morning beauty.

We like it here...a Holiday Inn was a comfy quick place to get back to last night after the show. Not only do we have a nice late checkout, but the hot water was easily accessible for our gigantor french press filled with delish coffee from Brooklyn roasters Gorilla Coffee.

Got some great friend time last night with our the ever amazing Erin coming in from Mechanicsburg with some pals. And Janet who I met at the Shawn Mullins show over the summer bringing her crew and then our new pal Mikey representin' from the Youngstown area with her trusty pal Carly! Very nice group of people who were not disappointed.

For those of you waiting for video.. it'll be Sunday before I get any up as I only brought my camera not the transfer equipment. The stuff from Indy will be good.. and as a side note on what songs I can post... Those older songs just don't get performed and while she did play at least 5 brand new songs, they may not get posted as they are works in progress. Natalia did let me post "Hotel Pen" right after she wrote it.

The new songs are freakin' great. You gotta get out to see her shows. Speaking of new music..you gotta know that Trina is going to be playing her new material at her upcoming shows.. and Susan Werner is getting ready to let her new project out of the bag too. You have to keep an eye on all of these ladies right now as the new stuff is going to be undeniably entertaining and the shows are going to be off the hook!

I'm really looking forward to this last run of the year with Trina and Susan. I have put alot of good legwork into trying to do this job as best I can and I really love the feeling that I did what I could to get things where they needed to be, and got information to press outlets in a timely manner. It's crazy how some of these musicians do all this stuff on their own... I don't know how they do it. I know that most of them are glued to computers just keeping things flowing. Not to mention trying to stay in touch with family and friends. These laptops are an essential tool in this way of life.

And I guess having a wee bloggy to tend to is my way of staying connected with all 5 of you who still check in. It's going out here... should be almost 60 degrees here in Ohio... but then as we roll out of here on our way to Lewisburg, PA the weather will be turning to rain on Saturday.

I think we are going back to The Westin for breakfast... Natalia loved it too, so it takes less convincing. And I do believe we are within very quick walking distance there. Yum!

Oh... and we really are playing the " We aren't eating bread this week game" and doing very well at it.

Go to your safe place Wendy....

I'm going to lay low and cook here today. I am making my godmother's chicken kapama recipe. I do believe it to be my ultimate comfort food of all time. And really just the smell of it cooking soothes me. Even more so than grilled cheese and tomato soup.. although that is a dear old friend as well.

Spoke to Trina last night.. she's busy as hell going over all the final deets for the new cd... can you beleive she had to finish it up while she was over in Germany? She is tenacious... fo' sho'! The graphics are gonna look kickass, and this is really going to be a "must have" for your Hamlin collection...

Hey Mom, guess what you are getting for Christmas???

So here is Susan Werner with Trina in there too... her ode to Barack Obama.

from the vault...

Just going through video on the wee youtube acct...so as to send links to a magazine in Chicago and this one for some reason was not public... huh! I forgot to make it viewable?? It's a great version of Susan Werner doing "Movie of My Life" at The Acorn Theater in 2007.

video...with audio??

Is it really asking too much?? For the love of Jeebus!!!

Let's see how this works...

Part 1 of an amazing moment at The Sisters Folk Festival....



Part 2... now here!!!Two parts up because the file was HUGE and the original cut was 17 minutes long!!!!



And then... when the tent was clearing.. Susan Werner and Dayan Kai from Keith's band just kind of closed it out really sweet.

Vintage Susan! Yaaaar!!!

Here is the head shot of Susan Werner on the wall at The Iron Horse Music Hall....love it!

This beautiful morning.

Splayed on the bed in the hotel actually getting to see some of the Olympics! Fun! But it's announced in french... Okay.

Made a provisioning run for yogurt and batteries this morning. Natalia and I are playing a game called ''Let's not eat any bread for the entire run.'' it's gone well, but we found ourselves using the Susan Werner method of carb adoration. No bread was actually ingested...but it was... shall we say lovingly suckled. It's been a fun game and we have enhanced that by pining for desserts and roti. It's also a tad difficult backstage as ALL of the snacks they have are cookies, breads, cakes etc.. Rat bastards! Where's the protein?? Oh, there's ''Putein'' but I am not eating that either!

We also stopped and got elk jerky yesterday. Which was exactly like snaping into a Slim Jim with a little less grease and no mechanically separated chicken parts in it. I don't think it agreed with NZ. I did ok but it came back at me about 3 hours later in the form of aromatic burpage. Charming, no?

The set she did yesterday was good. I shot from just off to the left and I think there is some fun footage. We shall see.

Today she plays twice and the same tomorrow. Then we head to Toronto Sunday night. We will be back on cell phones and computers by Monday.

Oh look! More video!

You say "Who Da Ho?" We say Idaho!!! Go to Idaho! Or come to Chicago!

Natalia opening for Ani in Boise ID (who should be here dammit!!!)

Susan Werner @ The Auditorium Theater with full band featuring Trina, Ingrid Groudins and Greg Holt on bass

Shows-a-plenty to choose from!!!

Oh, and let's not forget that Trina and Natalia are at S.P.A.C.E. in Evanston Il. at 1245 Chicago Ave 8 pm show. There is a $15.00 cover there. It will be a kickass show, and Tom over there who is promoting has been amazing to work with! Can't wait to be there!

Ok... need more coffee... only 4 cups in... my caffeine consumption is a wee bit outta control.